Indomitable
by allybz
Summary: Three years after the Jurassic World disaster, Ellis is just getting used to life "after the island" when Claire Dearing turns up on her doorstep asking for her help to save the dinosaurs from extinction, again. Getting a bunch of dinosaurs off of an island about to erupt - what could possibly go wrong? [SEQUEL TO INSATIABLE]


**_Paraplegia_** **.**

Dr Alan Grant had read the word over and over countless times, never able to read further, as he stared down at his daughter's medical report. Both himself and his wife, Natalie, had known it had been a possible outcome of course, it had been mentioned the same day Ellis had been airlifted off the island, but seeing it now, clear as day, in indelible ink – Alan felt it in his core.

It had been almost four months since what the press were calling the Jurassic World disaster, and Ellis Grant had spent the entirety of those four months in a medically induced coma, various machines and tubes breathing for her, keeping her alive. In that time, she had undergone various surgeries, the first and most significant being the surgery to remove the metal shard which had pierced her abdomen and lodged itself in her T12 vertebrae, tearing her spinal cord in the process. A few weeks later the surgeons in San Jose had agreed that Ellis could be transferred to a facility in America where she would be closer to her family and where the medical care could be specialised to her needs. It was the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore where Ellis had undergone her further surgeries and where she remained to this day. From the moment she'd arrived in Baltimore, Ellis hadn't been alone for more than a few moments - Alan, Natalie, Lowery and Owen all taking turns to sit by her side. They wanted someone to be there in case she woke up, or something much worse, either way all four of them were happier in the knowledge that she wasn't alone and had been able to get minimal amounts of sleep thanks to the agreement they'd come to.

Today, however, both Natalie and Alan Grant stood side by side at the foot of their daughter's hospital bed, watching as her chest rose and fell gently as though she were sleeping soundly. If it weren't for the quiet beep of the ventilator, and the constant lingering smell of strong disinfectant that seemed to be present in every hospital Alan Grant had ever visited, they could almost imagine that she simply was sleeping. The pair had been called into the hospital to speak with Ellis' lead physician Dr Noah Shepherd – a man who Alan had initially taken a rather severe disliking to when Ellis had been transferred from Costa Rica, on account of the surgeon's youth and in Alan's mind, inexperience. However, after multiple successful surgeries and talks long into the night, Alan now trusted the young doctor unreservedly, and had actually grown quite fond of him – about the next step in Ellis' recovery.

"As I've said from the beginning, this is going to be a marathon, certainly not a sprint." Dr Shepherd said quietly. He was stood in the corner of the room, his hands clasped together in front of him and his feet planted firmly, shoulder width apart. He had an air about him of a man much older than he was, having only recently celebrated his thirtieth birthday, and carried himself in a way that was not too dissimilar to a soldier, a fact that Owen had picked up on the minute he'd met Noah.

Noah Shepherd had served in the forces, in Iraq as a member of the medical teams stationed there and although he had never seen combat himself, he'd treated many a soldier who had. Of all the soldier's Dr Shepherd had treated, Ellis Grant was perhaps the most resilient he'd known, and it was for that reason that he'd called her parents to John Hoskins' Hospital that morning. It was time, he had told them, for Ellis to wake up.

"But, just to be clear, she may not be able to walk?" Dr Grant cleared his throat as he spoke, as though the words he was saying were difficult to swallow.

Dr Shepherd nodded slowly and his eyes momentarily flickered to Alan and Natalie's hands, which were clinging tightly to one another, before settling on Dr Grant's face once again. He looked at him carefully, he could see a lot of Dr Grant in his daughter, she bore a striking resemblance to her mother of course, but from what Noah had heard about Ellis Grant, she was every bit her father's daughter, and he didn't doubt that she possessed the same fierceness that her father displayed on a regular basis. "But she'll be awake."

"Alan…" Natalie pulled gently on Alan's hand, turning him to face her. Alan searched his wife's expression and she smiled softly up at him. "I'll call the boys, they'll want to be here when she wakes up."

Noah smiled at Natalie as she left the room, retrieving her mobile phone from her handbag as she went out into the corridor to call both Lowery and Owen and tell them to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

"She's going to be okay?" Alan Grant pulled Noah's attention from watching Natalie talking excitedly in the corridor. He had been wondering which of the two men she had chosen to call first; as he understood it Lowery Cruthers was Ellis Grant's boyfriend, whilst Owen Grady was just a friend, but from what he could tell they both loved her just as deeply.

"Natalie?" Dr Shepherd asked, raising his eyebrows as he spoke. "She seems in better spirits than I've seen her before Dr Grant."

"No, not my wife…" Alan took a step around Ellis' bed, looking down at his daughter, taking in her appearance. She looked much better now than she had when she was first transferred to John Hoskins' Hospital. Her usually tan skin had regained some of its colour, and cuts and bruises had faded leaving scars in their wake, but she still looked so frail, as though the lightest breeze could shatter every bone in her body.

"There's no knowing Dr Grant,"

"Alan, please call me Alan."

" _Alan_ ," Noah corrected himself with a courteous nod. "But we need to give Ellis a chance to make that decision for herself." He moved across the room, in just a couple of short strides. "And I for one am quite excited to meet your daughter properly for the first time, she really is quite remarkable."

Alan smirked, dropping his head as he did so. "She is."

"They're on their way." Natalie Grant burst through the door, a grin brightening her pretty features. She crossed the room quickly, bypassing her husband to pull Dr Shepherd into a tight embrace. She could never thank him for everything he'd done for their family, but she hoped that the simple act would convey at least some of her gratitude. Noah Shepherd hugged Natalie back lightly, pulling away before the embrace could be deemed inappropriate by any passing colleagues, and with that he nodded and made his exit, allowing Alan and Natalie a few moments alone with their daughter.

* * *

Owen Grady didn't appear to have changed in the four months since the Jurassic World disaster. Physically, there was nothing obviously different in his appearance bar a few new scars that simply added to the collection of those that were there before, but mentally he, personally at least, felt that he had changed considerably. Since that day on the island, Owen had become a dedicated man. Dedicated to his new relationship with Claire Dearing, who, for all her virtues, was slowly starting to take her toll on the ex-marine who was rapidly coming to realise just how much of a control freak the redhead truly was. Dedicated to Ellis Grant and her recovery, this was something he had wholeheartedly thrown himself into, going as far as to buying an RV that he'd set up not far from the hospital so that he could be there at a moments notice should the worst, or the best, happen.

He'd arrived around ten minutes before Lowery had done and had spent those first ten minutes talking with Noah in the hallway outside of Ellis' private room. They'd discussed what might happen next, the inevitable rehabilitation – both mental and physical – that Ellis was going to need, and how Owen could help, which he'd assured Noah he would do by any means necessary. When Lowery Cruthers arrived, he'd watched the two, much taller, men for a moment before clearing his throat to announce his arrival and striding over to them.

Lowery had never been particularly confident, though he was working on it. Vivian had assured him on numerous occasions that since that day on Isla Nublar, he was practically a new man. _Ellis is going to love you_. She'd assured him over a drink a few weeks earlier, and though he'd smiled at the time he'd spent the last couple of weeks mulling the words over, fretting about them. Didn't Ellis already love him? What if she finally woke up and realised that she didn't love him anymore? After all, he had done a pretty poor job of keeping her safe on the island, which was Rule 101 in the chivalry code, or so he thought. How could Ellis love him with the likes of Owen Grady around? The man was a Velociraptor trainer for gods sake, not to mention an absolute specimen of a man. And the doctor? Noah Shepherd had more brains in his little finger than Lowery Cruthers had in his entire body, sure Lowery could code a supercomputer, but could he perform surgery on a dying man? Absolutely not, he'd faint at the first sight of blood. And…

"Lowery? Hey, man…where'd you go in there?" Owen waved his hand in front of Lowery's face, dragging Lowery from his self-depreciating thoughts and sending him hurtling back down to Earth where he belonged. "Thought we'd lost you for a second there buddy."

Lowery shook his head, no. "Sorry, uh, just thinking."

"About Elle?"

"Sort of…" He turned to Noah now, and looked up at him. "Natalie said you're going to bring her around? Is…Is that safe, is she ready?"

"I think she is, yes." Dr Shepherd said confidently.

"Let's get this show on the road then, shall we?" Owen put a hand on either mans shoulders, guiding them towards the door to Ellis' private room and waiting for them both to step inside before he followed. When he entered he pressed a gentle kiss to Natalie's cheek and shook Alan's hand firmly. They'd both grown extremely fond of Owen Grady in the time since Jurassic World succumbed to the Indominus Rex, he was one of the reasons their daughter was still alive after all.

Dr Shepherd stood before them all, Ellis' nearest and dearest, and explained the process. He advised them of the timescales, that it certainly would not be quick, like switching on the kitchen light. It was going to take time, they were coaxing Ellis back from a place she'd been now for quite some time, and if she didn't want to come back, then there was very little that they could do to push her. With everyone nodding, assuring him that they both understood and approved, Noah turned to Ellis and began the process.

The carefully controlled levels of anaesthetic that had kept her under for so long were slowly altered and the sedatives and opiates that coursed through her veins slowed and became less and less concentrated. After some time, the tube that Ellis had been intubated with was removed and whilst everyone else in the room held their breath in anticipation, Ellis took the first of her own unaided. Eventually the rhythmic hum of the machines that everyone had become so accustomed to seemed to fade into nothingness when, for the first time in over three months, Ellis Grant opened her eyes. Everyone moved to surge forwards but Noah raised a hand, stopping them in their tracks. Ellis needed space, time to adjust to her new surroundings and a moment to gather what thoughts she could in her drug hazed and foggy mind.

She blinked slowly, dazed and confused. The bright lights in the small room were near unbearable and she turned her head away from them in frustration. Her gaze settled on her guests then, her mother and father, Owen and Lowery and another man whom she didn't recognise. At the sight of them, her heartrate quickened, an involuntary act that was shown instantly on the ECG screen beside her, everyone noticed.

"Ellis?" Dr Grant spoke softly, keeping his voice quiet and calm, as though he were speaking to a very young child, or a timid animal.

Ellis couldn't believe what she was seeing and hearing, she smiled - an act which pulled at the skin of her lips which were dry having not felt moisture in close to four months. A single tear fell from her dark eyes and she nodded slowly before she finally attempted to speak.

"Dad." She said, her voice was hoarse and her throat painful and irritated following intubation. "Dad?" She said again, this time her eyes widened, fear and confusion flashed upon her features. Alan, Natalie, Owen and Lowery glanced between themselves, worry setting in near instantly. "Dad, I can't move my legs."

* * *

 **A/N:** Welcome back everyone - I hope you enjoyed the Prologue and you're ready for Indomitable! Please, if you enjoyed this then follow so you don't miss any future updates, and if you could leave a review, it would absolutely make my year. I'm super intrigued to see how you guys think Ellis is going to fit into the Fallen Kingdom storyline so hit me up with any ideas. As always, I'm on my tumblr (chlobenet) where you can find Ellis edits/can come chat to me any time. Ally x


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